robbalvey wrote:^ So the ride is demolished. It won't be moved. And if it does get re-built it's pretty much a modern-day copy of the original ride like Knoebel's building Mr. Twister or Little Amerrika building Meteor.

robbalvey wrote:^ Wouldn't it just be easier (and probably cheaper) to have a new wooden roller coaster built and create your own legacy around that ride instead of buying someone else's?

Well when you take a step back and take a look at the costs It does kinda make sense to take the plans from an existing rollercoaster and rebuild it in this way. I would believe that buying the blueprints and technical layout plans that are exististing already would be far cheaper that paying a company to design and engineer a new plan from square one. Plus if they can salvage some of the hardwear such as lifthill motor/chain, cars, and possibly some of the safety mechanisms this would shave off a big part of the price. Living not much more then 2 miles from this tiny park I would have to agree that an old school coaster would be way cooler here then a custom created coaster with plan designs ala 2010. I like the feel of this place. It is old school. It is seriosly like a regular park that happens to have some amusment rides and always has. One of my fiance's favorite things to do is get a pizza from Little Ceasers and take it out there just to eat and walk around. ( we throw the last piece in its full form to a group of seagulls and watch them fight over it. It is extremly funny to watch one try to fly away with a whole piece that is too heavy for them to get off the ground!)

robbalvey wrote:^ Well if they can't find the plans then the mayor of Green Bay could buy himself a very nice pile of garbage and with that guy's gas can have a really amazing bonfire!

Wouldn't it just be easier (and probably cheaper) to have a new wooden roller coaster built and create your own legacy around that ride instead of buying someone else's?

I think since this park is a historical park they are looking for a historical coaster. At least that's what I see.

Zippin Pippin was a great coaster and while I would have loved for it to stay in Memphis I just want it to reopen. I'll make the trip to Green Bay to ride it. Hopefully the guys at Beach Bay can reuse some parts of it so it retains some history.

A proposal to build a roller coaster at Bay Beach Amusement Park in Green Bay got out of the starting gate Monday, but there were signs of possible political turbulence ahead.

One alderman is calling on Mayor Jim Schmitt to reimburse taxpayers for the cost of traveling to Memphis, Tenn., to check out a coaster associated with Elvis Presley. Another alderman wants to mandate that all future improvements to city-owned Bay Beach be funded strictly through private donations.

Schmitt said Monday he is confident that the roller-coaster development has strong support in the community and that it would be a worthwhile addition to the city's waterfront entertainment complex. "This is the right thing to do," he said.

Members of the council's Park Committee agreed Monday, voting 4-0 to endorse the mayor's plan to purchase the Zippin Pippin coaster from Memphis.

Committee Chairman Jerry Wiezbiskie said the ride could become a major attraction for Green Bay. The purchase "sounds like a no-brainer," Wiezbiskie said.

The full City Council is scheduled to consider the matter March 2.

Members of the council's Finance Committee today will hear Alderman Thomas De Wane's request for the mayor to reimburse the city for the Memphis trip. The trip cost $1,318, although that included travel expenses for city parks director Bill Landvatter, who accompanied the mayor. De Wane said that while it was appropriate for Landvatter and other professional staff to go examine the coaster, he believes Schmitt had no business making the trip. De Wane said he suspects the mayor got involved because of a personal fascination with the coaster's connection to Elvis Presley. "He just went overboard," De Wane said.

The Zippin Pippin has been billed as Presley's favorite roller coaster. The music legend reportedly rode it just days before he died in 1977. The coaster has been out of commission since the Memphis amusement park closed in 2005.

Green Bay officials hope to debut the coaster here in May 2011.

Schmitt said he made the trip to help persuade Memphis Mayor A.C. Wharton Jr. to sell the coaster to Green Bay. He also said the business deal is too significant for him to pursue without getting a first-hand look at the ride. He dismissed De Wane's reimbursement request as politics. "I'm embarrassed for Tom De Wane that he would bring it up," the mayor said.

Alderman. John Vander Leest, meanwhile, has submitted a proposal to require private funding for all future Bay Beach improvements. That proposal also is scheduled for discussion today by the Finance Committee.

City officials estimate that it would cost $3 million to acquire the Zippin Pippin rights and to re-create the coaster here, using largely new materials. Schmitt plans to raise $600,000 in private donations and finance the rest through a municipal bond issue. The mayor said revenue from the ride would be enough to pay off the bond issue in about 10 years. "There's no risk to the taxpayers," he said. In comparison, officials calculate that it would cost $5 million to build a new coaster from scratch.

Landvatter provided Park Committee members Monday with data showing that Bay Beach's existing attractions generated $1.6 million in revenue last year compared with $807,425 in expenses.

The parks director said Bay Beach is a successful enterprise and would become even more so with the Zippin Pippin. "It would be fabulous if we could do this," he said. "It's a pretty unique opportunity."

Change the scheme, Alter the mood! Electrify the boys and girls if you would be so kind!

I'm extremely happy that this is going through so well. I'm amazed at how much all the city officials are behind it and how much they want us to the get the Zippin Pippin. Even though most of the ride will be new material using whatever they can of the ZP will save them two million dollars wich is a fair amount of money. Something thats been totally over looked is the new rides the park is supposed to get. Any word on what those may be?

Operators of a small amusement park known for its vintage carnival rides decided to erect a large wooden roller coaster with the hope of drawing bigger crowds.

The year was 1995, and the park was Holiday World in a remote corner of southern Indiana, not far from Kentucky.

Amusement park industry watchers point to Holiday World as an example of what Green Bay could expect with its planned acquisition of the Zippin Pippin roller coaster.

Buoyed by a loyal following of coaster fans worldwide, the little Indiana park has experienced a dramatic rise in attendance, to more than 1 million people a year. The business also has benefited from a water park addition.

It's official, although it looks like it will be a recreation and not a relocation:

By a vote of 7-4, the Green Bay City Council on Tuesday night gave the green light to building a wooden roller-coaster at Bay Beach -- specifically, the design of the Memphis Zippin Pippin.

The vote means the city can move forward to buy the design of the Zippin Pippin which used to run at the now-defunct Libertyland amusement park in Tennessee. It was reportedly Elvis Presley's favorite ride.

The estimated $3 million project also includes the naming rights and some artifacts as well as building the coaster new in Green Bay. The city estimates $600,000 would come from fund-raising and $2.4 million from a revenue bond.

That bond, the city believes, will repay itself from ridership within ten years, and then the roller-coaster will start making money for the city.

Bay Beach is the city's only profitable park. In 2009, revenue from the amusement park reached nearly $814,000.

Council members debated the issue, asking questions from the city's park director as well as a roller-coaster consultant the city is working with.

"If it is going to bring revenue to the park, we want to make sure we understand all the different costs. I think we need more background on some of the details related to the operations, insurance, maintenance," Alderman John VanderLeest said.

"It, in fact, is definitely a no-brainer. Three-million dollars cost from start to finish as well as maintenance will be paid for by its own ride sales. Self-sufficient, private donations, and not a dollar from the taxpayers," Alderman Jerry Wiezbiskie said.

The city will now finalize buying the naming rights and design from the former park in Memphis.

Construction on the new coaster could begin this summer, and the city hopes to have the ride open at Bay Beach in May, 2011.

On a serious note, Bay Beach hasn't had a roller coaster since 1936 so I'm very happy that they're getting one. The Zippin Pippin looks like a great family coaster and I can't wait for it's 2011 opening. I'm surprised that the parks website doesnt say anything about getting the Zippin Pippin.

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